Municipal demand-side policy tools and the strategic management of technology life cycles

•We review supply and demand-side innovation policy tools.•We develop a framework for demand-side innovation policy.•We demonstrate the efficacy of different demand-side policy tools across technology life cycles.•We provide a policy framework for smart cities embracing sustainable technology innovation.

This research is particularly concerned with public policy instruments which may help to accelerate the development and diffusion of sustainable innovations and support local economic development. While sustainable technology sectors are in high demand, firms still face significant barriers in developing and diffusing their technologies in regions throughout the world (Hoff, 2012). This area has been less explored in the extant research yet recent experiences suggest that supply side tools may not always have positive benefits for supporting clean technology evolution, or for taxpayers. Leveraging innovation policy and technology life cycle literature, we develop a model of demand-side policy instruments which could be applied at different stages of the technology s-curve in order to accelerate the adoption of sustainable technologies. Implications for managers, public policy actors and researchers are considered.